“I don’t like Gino for this,” Kelly said.
“Because?”
“Not his style,” Kelly said. “Why would Gino pimp for a fucking pedophile? Risk is big and money’s small.”
“Favor for a friend?” Jesse said.
“Gino?”
“He doesn’t value friendship?” Jesse said.
“He’s never experienced it.”
“So you think Garner was working out of Gino’s office?”
“And maybe Gino don’t know nothing about it.”
“Which makes the Shaw connection kind of a problem,” Jesse said.
“Big coincidence,” Kelly said.
“You can’t assume coincidence,” Jesse said.
“No you can’t,” Kelly said. “Garner could know Shaw through Gino.”
“So?”
“So we’re right where we were,” Kelly said.
Jesse broke off a piece of cinnamon donut and popped it in his mouth. He chewed carefully and took a sip of coffee.
“How would Gino feel if he found out Garner was running a prostitution business out of Gino’s office?”
“He would be offended,” Kelly said.
They were both silent, watching a flatbed tow truck hook up to a Dodge pickup that was parked in a tow zone. A motorcycle cop was supervising.
“You think we’re next?” Jesse said.
“Traffic division’s a menace,” Kelly said.
The tow truck driver squirmed under the pickup and hooked his cable on the frame. Then he stood beside his truck and worked the lever and the pickup began to winch up onto the flatbed.
“So,” Jesse said. “If Garner found out we knew about him, and were planning to talk with Gino about it…”
Kelly smiled and said, “Bingo!”
Chapter Fifty-seven
There were two blue-and-white Paradise cruisers, one pulled up onto the sidewalk, nose in, blue rights still flashing, parked in front of the Atlantic Market. Jesse parked on the street behind them and got out. Behind the car that was up on the sidewalk were Anthony DeAngelo and Eddie Cox. Cox had a shotgun.
“Hostage,” Anthony DeAngelo told him. “I think it’s Snyder and his wife. You know, the one beat her up all the time?”
“Where are they?”
“Back of the store, I think,” DeAngelo said. “By the service counter.”
“Anybody else?”
“Some customers. Couple of store people. I don’t know yet how many.”
“Anybody here from the store?”
“We got one of the cashiers,” Cox said. “She’s the one came running out hollering. Store manager’s on his way.”
“Got the back covered?”
“Suit and Buddy.”
“Anybody made contact?”
“I went to the front door,” DeAngelo said. “Guy yells at me from the back. Says he’ll kill her and everybody else if I try to come in.”
“I said I was just there to help. Was there something he wanted,” Cox said.
“And?”
“He said I should get out or he’d start shooting. Then he says to the broad, ‘Tell him,’ but she don’t talk. I can hear her crying.”
“What about the other people in the store?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see anybody.”
“Okay,” Jesse said, “where’s the cashier?”
“In Eddie’s cruiser,” DeAngelo said.
